Projectiles Objects that are thrown or launched into the air and are subject to gravity are called projectiles. Projectile motion is the curved path that an object follows when thrown, launched,or otherwise projected near the surface of Earth. If air resistance is disregarded, projectiles follow parabolic trajectories.

Projectiles Projectile motion is free fall with an initial horizontal velocity. The yellow ball is given an initial horizontal velocity and the red ball is dropped. Both balls fall at the same rate. the horizontal velocity of a projectile will be considered constant. We are ignoring air resistance.

Projectile Motion

Kinematic Equations for Projectiles How can you know the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of a projectile at any point in time during its flight? One method is to look at the vectors’ components, then apply the one-dimensional equations to each component. Finally, you can combine the components to determine the resultant.

Kinematic Equations for Projectiles To solve projectile problems, apply the kinematic equations in the horizontal and vertical directions. In the vertical direction, the acceleration ay will equal –g (–9.81 m/s2) because the only vertical component of acceleration is free-fall acceleration. In the horizontal direction, the acceleration is zero, so the velocity is constant.

Kinematic Equations for Projectiles Projectiles Launched Horizontally The initial vertical velocity is 0. The initial horizontal velocity is the initial velocity. Projectiles Launched At An Angle Resolve the initial velocity into x and y components. The initial vertical velocity is the y component. The initial horizontal velocity is the x component.

Problem A movie director is shooting a scene that involves dropping a stunt dummy out of an airplane and into a swimming pool. The plane is 10.0 m above the ground, traveling at a velocity of 22.5 m/s in the positive x direction. The director wants to know where in the plane’s path the dummy should be dropped so that it will land in the pool. What is the dummy’s horizontal displacement? Given: Unknown:

Problem The initial velocity vector of the stunt dummy only has a horizontal component. Choose the coordinate system oriented so that the positive y direction points upward and the positive x direction points to the right.

Problem

Problem

Sample Problem Projectiles Launched At An Angle A zookeeper finds an escaped monkey hanging from a light pole. Aiming her tranquilizer gun at the monkey, she kneels 10.0 m from the light pole,which is 5.00 m high. The tip of her gun is 1.00 m above the ground. At the same moment that the monkey drops a banana, the zookeeper shoots. If the dart travels at 50.0 m/s,will the dart hit the monkey, the banana, or neither one?

1 . Select a coordinate system. The positive y-axis points up, and the positive x-axis points along the ground toward the pole. Because the dart leaves the gun at a height of 1.00 m, the vertical distance is 4.00 m.

2 . Use the inverse tangent function to find the angle that the initial velocity makes with the x-axis.

3 . Choose a kinematic equation to solve for time. Rearrange the equation for motion along the x-axis to isolate the unknown Dt, which is the time the dart takes to travel the horizontal distance.

For the banana, vi = 0. Thus: 4 . Find out how far each object will fall during this time. Use the free-fall kinematic equation in both cases. For the banana, vi = 0. Thus: Dyb = ½ay(Dt)2 = ½(–9.81 m/s2)(0.215 s)2 = –0.227 m The dart has an initial vertical component of velocity equal to vi sin q, so: Dyd = (vi sin q)(Dt) + ½ay(Dt)2 Dyd = (50.0 m/s)(sin 21.8)(0.215 s) +½(–9.81 m/s2)(0.215 s)2 Dyd = 3.99 m – 0.227 m = 3.76 m

Find the final height of both the banana and the dart. 5 . Analyze the results. Find the final height of both the banana and the dart. ybanana, f = yb,i+ Dyb = 5.00 m + (–0.227 m) ybanana, f = 4.77 m above the ground ydart, f = yd,i+ Dyd = 1.00 m + 3.76 m ydart, f = 4.76 m above the ground The dart hits the banana. The slight difference is due to rounding.

Objectives Describe situations in terms of frame of reference. Solve problems involving relative velocity.

Frames of Reference If you are moving at 80 km/h north and a car passes you going 90 km/h, to you the faster car seems to be moving north at 10 km/h. Someone standing on the side of the road would measure the velocity of the faster car as 90 km/h toward the north. This simple example demonstrates that velocity measurements depend on the frame of reference of the observer.

Frames of Reference Consider a stunt dummy dropped from a plane. (a) When viewed from the plane, the stunt dummy falls straight down. (b) When viewed from a stationary position on the ground, the stunt dummy follows a parabolic projectile path.

Relative Motion

Relative Velocity When solving relative velocity problems, write down the information in the form of velocities with subscripts. Using our earlier example, we have: vse = +80 km/h north (se = slower car with respect to Earth) vfe = +90 km/h north (fe = fast car with respect to Earth) unknown = vfs (fs = fast car with respect to slower car) Write an equation for vfs in terms of the other velocities. The subscripts start with f and end with s. The other subscripts start with the letter that ended the preceding velocity: vfs = vfe + ves

Relative Velocity An observer in the slow car perceives Earth as moving south at a velocity of 80 km/h while a stationary observer on the ground (Earth) views the car as moving north at a velocity of 80 km/h. In equation form: ves = –vse Thus, this problem can be solved as follows: vfs = vfe + ves = vfe – vse vfs = (+90 km/h n) – (+80 km/h n) = +10 km/h n A general form of the relative velocity equation is: vac = vab + vbc

Relative Velocity